Also counts towards Northern Fireball Series
Ullswater Yacht Club’s biggest event of the year, the annual long distance race for the highly-prized Lord Birkett Memorial Trophy, takes place on Saturday and Sunday, July 2 and 3.
One of the most spectacular sailing events in the North, the Birkett was rated in number eight in the top 50 ‘must do’ sailing regattas by Yachts and Yachting magazine.
The quest for the ‘Holy Grail’ of a Birkett win attracts keen sailors from national champions to novices from all over the country in a huge range of different boats all racing the full length of Ullswater and back on both days.
The unique race was established in 1963 to commemorate the successful defence of the right of public access to Ullswater which was threatened with reservoir status in the early 1960s.
The Birkett is open to all monohulls with a recognised handicap rating and organisers expect the entries to be over 200.
All boats, from the smallest dinghies to high performance racing machines and cruisers, race from one spectacular mass start with the line stretching across the full width of the lake. They race down the lake, a distance of about seven miles, past Birkett Crag and the plaque to the memory of Lord Birkett who made the decision to stop the lake becoming a reservoir, round an island at the southern end, and back. Then they do it all again on Sunday – with both races to count.
This year the club is ‘back to normal’ after a major renovation work was carried out on the clubhouse in 2010 following the November 2009 floods. Last year’s Birkett went ahead successfully, despite the building work. The field next to the club site was became a temporary camp site in 2010 it will be in use again this year.
For details visit www.ullswateryachtclub.org
